Woman to face trial in Bethlehem killing; man died of single stab wound to the heart

A woman charged with killing her estranged boyfriend at her Bethlehem home told police she "had to do it" because he was going to hurt her, according to Thursday's testimony at a hearing in Northampton County Court.

Ebony Jones, 31, is charged with homicide in the death of Ismail Bonets, who was stabbed to death Nov. 24 in the kitchen of Jones' home in the Marvine-Pembroke housing development.

Senior District Judge Elizabeth Romig-Gainer ordered Jones to face trial in the killing. Jones remains in prison without bail.

The preliminary hearing was emotional for more than a dozen of Bonets' family members, who packed the Easton courtroom and passed a box of tissues around during graphic testimony.

After the hearing, as both Bonets' and Jones' family members were led outside, one woman began shouting before she was ushered away. Family members from both sides declined to comment.

Bethlehem police officer Louis Csaszar testified he was the first officer to arrive on a call of a fight that escalated to a stabbing. Jones was on the front porch of the home with bloodstains on her hands and shirt, Csaszar testified.

Homicide in Bethlehem

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

A district judge ruled Thursday that Ebony Jones will face trial for killing her estranged boyfriend.

A district judge ruled Thursday that Ebony Jones will face trial for killing her estranged boyfriend. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL)

"She told me she had to do it because 'he was going to hurt me,' " Csaszar testified.

He said Jones followed him into the home and said "help him" as he came upon Bonets on the floor with a stab wound to his chest.

Csaszar said he found a bloody knife on the top of a nearby stove. Jones' three children — ages 6, 9 and 11 — were in the home in the 1200 block of Woodbine Street at the time of the killing, but were not hurt, authorities said.

Police said Bonets, 37, of New York City, was in Bethlehem to attend a parent-teacher conference with the 6-year-old daughter he has with Jones. Authorities said they had no previous police calls involving Bonets or to Jones' home.

As Jones was led into court Thursday, she smiled and waved at family members and friends.

But at points during the hearing, Jones frowned and shook her head. When prosecutors showed photos of Bonets' wounds, Jones briefly closed her eyes and turned her head away as her attorneys thumbed through them.

Jones' attorney, Robert Eyer, declined to comment after the hearing.

District Attorney John Morganelli has said he will assess the degree of homicide in the killing, noting it could be anything from first-degree homicide to involuntary manslaughter.